Les hommes se servent de la pensée pour autoriser leurs injustices, et… — Voltaire | Printable Wall Art

“Les hommes se servent de la pensée pour autoriser leurs injustices, et emploient les paroles pour déguiser leurs pensées.”
“Men use thought only to justify their wrongdoings, and speech only to disguise their thoughts.”

Words by Voltaire (1694-1778) — French Enlightenment writer, philosopher, and satirist.

About this quote

Voltaire offers a sharp critique of human hypocrisy. Rather than using reason to act fairly, people often employ intellect to excuse their selfish actions after the fact. Similarly, language is frequently used to mask true motives rather than reveal them. The line warns us to look past polished words and rationalisations to see underlying intentions and genuine behaviour.

This line comes from Voltaire's 1763 satirical dialogue, Le Chapon et la Poularde. Writing during the French Enlightenment, he used the conversation between two farmyard birds to mock human morality, deceit, and philosophical self-justification.

People often hang this print in a home office or study as a sharp reminder to practice clear honesty.

What you get

An instant digital download. Choose your design and size at checkout — 18 typographic designs and 8 print sizes are available for this quote.

• Print-ready PDF with fully embedded vector type — sharp at any scale
• Exact trim size, no cropping required
• Print at home, at a local print shop, or upload to an online printer
• Instant download — no physical item is shipped

Sizes available

5" x 7" · 8" x 10" · 11" x 14" · 12" x 16" · 16" x 20" · 18" x 24" · 24" x 36" · A4 (21 x 29.7 cm)

Designs available

Atelier Serif · Quiet Garamond · Studio Left · Gallery Rule · Midnight Serif · Editorial Left Serif · Modern Sans Calm · Letterpress Caps · Poster Condensed · Manuscript Italic · Asymmetric Left · Minimal Unsigned · Charcoal Sans · Gallery Frame · Soft Serif Right · Statement Serif · Tracked Caps Unsigned · Editorial Justified

Digital product. Colours may vary slightly between screens and printers. Frames and props are not included.